


the forgotten brother

by mossymoon



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Eventual Fluff, F/M, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Jealousy, Lesson 16 (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) Spoilers, Light Angst, References to Depression, belphie talks abt his life in the celestial realm, pre-belphie making a pact w mc, references to the great celestial war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:00:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27458377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mossymoon/pseuds/mossymoon
Summary: mending a relationship built on lies wasn't the easiest thing in the world, and it was only made even more difficult for belphegor by the fact that everyone was already so far ahead of him. he thinks of giving up, but a visit from you gives him hope for the future.
Relationships: Belphegor & Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Reader, Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Belphegor/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 90





	the forgotten brother

**Author's Note:**

> thank u to XxWolfiexX for this wonderful request ! i haven't been super motivated lately, but writing this was actually a lot of fun (´･ᴗ･ ` ) i included one of my own personal hcs abt what happened during the great celestial war, so i hope u guys like that too. pls enjoy !

no matter how much belphegor tried, it never seemed to be enough.

he couldn't believed he thought he'd hated you the first few times you met, that he had actually enjoyed that sickening moment of your body being crushed by hands, the broken looks on his brothers' faces as you died right before their eyes. but he loved you now, his senses had long been returned to him after the entire odd, needlessly complicated ordeal had concluded with your unexpected revival.

every day he tried to make things right, to ignore the way you shared playful words and tender kisses and jokes he wasn't yet allowed to understand with everyone else but barely ever with him, he had taken notice of the way your eyes would flicker with something indiscernible when you realized you two had unexpectedly ended up alone. he hated it. he hated himself for leaving what little connection you had made during his imprisonment in ruins, he hated the fact that you had had months to get closer to his brothers before you even considered him as someone you could be safe around.

he'd been hanging around you for a few weeks now, being as gentle and affectionate as he could, bringing you snacks, inviting you for afternoon naps or sleepovers with beel, anything that might ease your relationship into a less awkward, more enjoyable phase. but he felt like he was getting nowhere, and that made him endlessly frustrated. he'd been alive for so many millennia, met so many mortals and demons and angels and everything in between, but yet the thing that absolutely stumped him was how to earn back a trust he almost felt like he never had.

so he slipped back into his old bad habits, always wandering into the comforting embrace of his bed and ignoring all these annoying details, only crawling out to eat and attend classes. he was sure that nobody would mind his absence. after all, they had no problem forgetting about him under the false pretense of him going to the human world on the exchange program, so they shouldn't have any problem with him disappearing again, right? but even between the sluggish haze of his brief periods of being awake and the dreams that would sometimes interrupt the pleasant nothingness his sleep offered, he couldn't get the thought of you off his mind.

the few times he'd managed to make you crack a smile or giggle, his heart skipped when he remember that wonderful expression of delight that illuminated your features for just a moment. you looked so beautiful, almost too beautiful, perfect in a way he'd never seen before he met you. he would try to remind himself that you liked his brothers better—the brothers that had always been there, the ones that had never killed you in cold blood—that you were afraid of him, and he had truly ruined his only chance of you ever feeling the same for him.

he was ready to accept his fate wholeheartedly, to accept that this whole disaster was his fault entirely. until the day you came to his room.

he had decided to skip his last period, trudging back home and barely taking the time to tug off his shoes and jacket before he threw himself into bed. he had been drifting in and out of consciousness, the concept of time slipping away in the limbo he was suspended in. that day hadn't been amazing, starting out with him having to listen to you discuss the movie night you'd planned with beel, satan, and levi during breakfast, barely eating more than a few forkfuls of his scrambled hellhen eggs before he pushed his plate over to his brother. he didn't even ask if he was sure he wasn't hungry anymore, just took it without turning his gaze away from you.

with the way everyone was so focused on you and the conversation going on, he was sure no one had noticed the sadness that had etched itself over his expression, getting up from the table as soon as the clock struck 7:30 and heading off to school on his own. he was so sure he'd gone under the radar, become the forgotten brother once more, until just then, when he heard the door to his room slowly creak open.

he didn't think he'd already slept through his last period and assumed it was his mind playing tricks on him, or maybe the ghost stories about the house were true and one had decided to come exploring. either way he didn't care enough to check, nestling his face deeper into the pillow and trying to force himself to sleep before someone actually came to bother him. but instead of the silence returning, there were soft footsteps padding towards his bed, then a weight sinking into the mattress beside him.

his back was turned to whoever was there, even if it wasn't he would've continued to feign sleep. he wasn't in any sort of mood to talk to any of his brothers. but whoever was sitting on the bed was too light to be one of them, they would've been talking his ear off and shaking him awake by now, and they surely wouldn't have started to lay down next to him when they received no response from him like this person was doing now.

"belphie," a hand gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, your voice soft and warm as you spoke, "are you ok? i know you've been avoiding me."

he didn't respond, he didn't want to talk right now.

why were you being kind to him? why did you even care? weren't you still afraid of him? but you sounded so welcoming right now, your hand even warmer than the hug of the blankets around him, he could only imagine how wonderful it'd be to sleep in your arms. but he couldn't do that, he didn't deserve to do that, and even if he did you probably wouldn't let him.

"belphie." you drew out the last syllable of his name a bit more, shifting closer to him in the bed, "i know you're awake, you breathe different when you're asleep."

he did? you noticed such a minute detail about him? he could feel his heart warm, unable to stop the smallest of smiles from turning up on his lips. there was no use faking anymore, so he took in a great breath and let out a sleepy sigh, turning in bed to face you.

"caught me." he murmured, rubbing his eyes before he blinked away the drowsiness, allowing them to focus on you.

in the dim light of his room, your face was such a comforting sight, a close-lipped smile conflicting with the concern in your eyes. he would guess that there was less than half a pillow of space between the two of you, not quite touching but able to feel the warmth of the other's body from the proximity.

you didn't speak for a moment, intently looking over his face as if you were searching for something in his expression. you didn't find it, letting out a sigh of your own and locking eyes with him.

"everyone's worried about you. _i'm_ worried about you."

"why?" he replied without thinking, his mouth moving of its own volition, "i haven't done anything to deserve your concern. in fact, i've done quite the opposite. it's no wonder you like everyone else better."

he always been blunt about certain things, especially when it didn't offer any benefit to be secretive about his true feelings. but he didn't expect to see your resolve wither so easily at his words, frowning as your brow knitted, expression becoming much sadder than he'd ever seen you. he felt like an idiot.

you had taken the time out of your day to come see him and give him another chance to redeem himself, but all he could think of was his bruised ego and the pathetic failures of his previous attempts to foster a better relationship. and now you were upset with him. even though he knew he deserved it, he didn't want to face your disappointment any longer, he didn't want to accept his shortcomings.

"that's not true, belphie." he was surprised when he felt your fingers brush his own, hesitating for just a moment before taking his hand in yours, "you matter to me just as much as everyone else, even if we don't get to hang out as much."

he wanted to be relieved, to let your kind words wash away his worries and carrying him off to the happiness he'd been craving, but how could you say that to him so easily? had you really forgiven him? after all he'd done?

"you're just saying that to make me feel better."

"why would i lie to you?"

"i don't know. because you're nice and think you can spare my feelings by letting me down easy?" an odd feeling twisted in his chest, cinching around his heart and lungs and squeezing tight, voice beginning to waver, "you couldn't possibly see me as someone who deserves your time, not after i.. i ki..."

the words died on his lips, tears he hadn't felt coming sliding down his face and wetting the pillow, hand now squeezing yours even though he knew he wasn't worthy of your comfort. but before he could even dwell on that thought, you were already moving closer to him, the hand not holding his moving to rest on the back of his head and gently urge him closer. your touch was so delicate, treating him with a tender attention he hadn't been shown in so long, one he didn't know he'd been craving until you offered.

so he selfishly accepted, pressing his face into your shoulder and letting you hold him close as he silently cried. your warmth soothed the ache in his chest, cheek finding a place on the crown of his head, fingers carding slowly through his thick hair. compared to him, you had such a short life, so many things to do with such little time, and yet you had dedicated yourself to fixing his dysfunctional family, putting the pieces of their broken memories back together and helping them find resolve without asking anything in return.

he'd heard the stories from beel, how you'd faced the prospect of death many times at the hands of his brothers before he had actually killed you. he remembered thinking about how he'd been so blind, so stupid to not see how special you really were as he laid in bed that night. you deserved nothing but the best, all the happiness that all three realms had to offer and so much more, and somehow you were willing to settle for him. he was so grateful for that.

he didn't know how long you had been laying there and petting his hair for, but it was long enough for him to calm down and get his breathing back to normal, blinking off the remaining mistiness on his lashes but not wanting to pull away from your embrace. he knew you knew he was feeling better, and he was expecting you to untangle from him at any moment and take your leave, but you stayed right there, still twirling small locks between your fingers, nails gently scratching just right over his scalp.

though, after a moment your touch began to wander, trailing down the nape of his neck and down his spine, hand spreading flat on his back so the tip of your little finger touched one shoulder blade and your thumb rested over the other.

"scapula." you murmured, almost too softly for him to hear.

"is that what humans call it?" you took a second too long to respond, letting him know that you didn't expect for him to notice.

"mhm. i read somewhere in a book or saw in a movie that the scapula is what's left of our wings."

he felt a small shock spark in his heart. he'd buried the memory far back in his mind, never having to see the reminder of it that was permanently scarred into his flesh, but your mention of wings brought it all back to him, even after all these centuries.

"they weren't wrong about it." he replied, taking a breath before speaking again, "you know, i used to have wings. all of us did."

"really?" there was excitement in your voice at first, but he could tell by the way your hand recoiled from his back just the slightest bit that you were beginning to put two and two together.

"what happened..? if you don't mind me asking."

he already had the words in mind, but the difficulty of pushing them past his lips returned. "the celestial war. there was so many things happening all at once, and they ended up catching me during one of the battles while i was searching for lilith. i remember who they were, samael and bezaliel. we were friends before it all, but their loyalty to me was far outweighed by their loyalty to our father, and so they cut my wings and cast them into the sky. i never heard what happened to levi or lucifer, and i never wanted to ask, but i assume they did the same sort of thing to them."

as soon as he finished, he felt guilty for putting you back in such an awkward position. if he were you, he wouldn't know how to respond, but he himself had already come to terms with that missing part of him, and he hoped you wouldn't feel like you were obligated to keep comforting him. he felt you let out a deep shuddering breath, face nestling further against his hair, fingers stroking down his back with a feather-light touch.

"oh, belphie." you whispered, voice just as soft as it was when you'd roused him from his half-sleep, "i'm so happy i got to really meet you."

a comfortable silence settled around both of you, belphie's eyes beginning to heavy and breathe steadily slowing. he realized almost too late that he was falling asleep, remembering the conversation you'd been having at breakfast and the plans that await you this evening.

"don't you have to go?" he murmured blearily, shifting around in anticipation of your departure, "you and beel and satan and levi-"

"they can go one night without me," you said, readjusting yourself so you could hold him closer, "besides, aren't you comfy right now?"

"mhm.." he hummed, relaxing once more. it was too easy to fall asleep in your arms, the wonderful warmth of your body and the rise and fall of your chest easing him into slumber like a wordless lullaby.

the last thing he felt before finally drifting into unconsciousness was your lips pressing against his temple, depositing a gentle kiss before you returned to resting, fingers still gently stroking just over the long-faded scars through his clothes.

maybe he could do this after all.


End file.
